Scenario
You are the chief supply chain officer at NationaliTeas, a large international corporation that manufactures and sells tea worldwide. Its mission is to “Make the world more awake through rejuvenating and refreshing beverages and sustainable practices that uplift workers, communities, and souls.” You have recently hired the company’s first project manager and assigned their first project: Revise workflows in use related to packaging at one of your tea factories to be more sustainable and leaner. As this is their first project, you will be helping them complete the task.
Directions
Read the Project Charter for Workflow Improvement, then review the Process Workflow for Tea Production graphic. These documents are linked below under Supporting Materials. A text-only version is available: Process Workflow for Tea Production Text-Only Version. Based on these documents, recommend removing a total of four steps from the process flowchart that can help make the process more efficient and sustainable. Explain the implications of the proposed changes and then help the NationaliTeas team address existing items in the Issue Log located in the project charter.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Lean Manufacturing: Evaluate the process flowchart to identify steps that do not add value based on the principles of lean manufacturing. Explain why you selected each step.
Sustainability: Evaluate the process flowchart and identify steps that should be removed or changed to improve environmental sustainability. Explain why you selected each step.
Process Changes: Explain the implications, both positive and negative, of removing or changing the steps from the process flowchart you identified in the previous two bullet points. Also, explain how those changes would help alignment to the triple bottom line (TBL).
Issue Log: Analyze all entries in the Issue Log from a project manager's perspective. Explain the recommended course of action based on the project charter, noting the impact of the issue on scope, planning communications, and resourcing.
Operations Management Techniques: Discuss how operations management techniques, including project management and lean manufacturing, can add value to the organization, NationaliTeas.
Sample Answer
This is an excellent first project for the new Project Manager (PM). Focusing on lean and sustainable packaging workflows directly aligns with NationaliTeas' mission. As Chief Supply Chain Officer, my goal is to provide strategic guidance to ensure the project delivers measurable value while staying aligned with the triple bottom line (TBL) philosophy.
Here are my recommendations and guidance for the PM.
1. Lean Manufacturing: Identifying Non-Value-Add Steps
Based on the principles of lean manufacturing, the goal is to eliminate waste (Muda). Waste is anything that does not add value from the customer's perspective. The customer pays for great tea and sustainable packaging, not for internal movement, waiting, or inspection.
2. Sustainability: Identifying Environmentally Problematic Steps
To align with the sustainability aspect of our mission, we must focus on reducing material usage, energy consumption, and waste.
I recommend removing or changing the following two steps to improve environmental sustainability:
| Step to Change/Remove | Rationale for Sustainability Improvement |
| "Place Filled Bags into Metal Cans" | Material Reduction: Metal cans are resource-intensive to produce, transport, and recycle. The sustainable solution is to eliminate them entirely and move to a single, certified, post-consumer recycled (PCR) paperboard or fully compostable pouch/box system. This significantly reduces weight and material complexity. |
| "Package Tea Bags in Boxes" | Material Optimization: While boxes are better than cans, we should evaluate the possibility of using minimalist, uncoated paperboard or a direct film packaging (if certified compostable) that serves the dual purpose of primary and secondary packaging. The goal is to eliminate any unnecessary layer or decorative coating that hinders easy recycling. |
Export to Sheets
3. Process Changes and Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Alignment
Removing or changing these four steps will have significant implications across the value chain, largely positive, and will directly help us align with the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework of People, Planet, and Profit.
| Change/Removal | Positive Implications | Negative Implications | TBL Alignment |
| Remove "Move Cans..." | Profit: Reduces internal handling costs and cycle time. | People: Requires upfront investment in new facility layout/equipment integration. | Profit: Reduced operational cost. |
| Remove "Store Packaging..." | Profit: Reduces inventory holding costs and risk of obsolescence. | People: Increases reliance on supplier reliability; requires tighter scheduling and collaboration. | Profit: Reduced working capital. |
| Change from Cans to Paperboard | Planet: Massive reduction in raw material, energy, and transportation weight/emissions. | People: Customer pushback if the paper packaging is perceived as less premium. | Planet: Lower carbon footprint; Profit: Lower material cost. |
| Optimize "Package in Boxes" | Planet: Further reduction in material use and easier consumer recycling. | People: Requires retraining of production line staff and potential equipment replacement. | Planet: Less landfill waste; Profit: Lower material cost. |
Export to SheetsThese changes support the TBL:
Planet (Environmental): Eliminating metal cans and excess packaging materials dramatically reduces the carbon footprint and waste.
Profit (Economic): Removing non-value-add steps (moving, storing) and downgrading expensive metal packaging to paperboard drastically lowers operational costs and working capital.